Tottenham set to beat Liverpool to Brazil star Willian as player arrives in London for a medical

Tottenham are closing in on a deal for Brazilian forward Willian after the player arrived in London for a medical, reports the Daily Mail.

The paper says Spurs will break their record transfer fee for the third time this summer to land the 25-year-old Anzhi Makhachkala star in a deal worth around £30m.

Liverpool were thought to be close to signing Willian but Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas is a long-standing admirer of the former Shakhtar Donetsk player, who will undergo a medical at Spurs on Tuesday.

Villas-Boas saw a bid rejected for the two-cap Brazil international during his time in charge of Chelsea, while Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy flew to Donetsk last summer to negotiate a deal for Willian but returned empty-handed.

The move will spark speculate than Willian, who can play on either flank or behind a central striker, is a replacement for Real Madrid target Gareth Bale but Villas-Boas has consistently denied the Welshman will be sold this summer.

The deal would take Spurs’ summer spending close to £90m, with Roberto Soldado, Paulinho, Nacer Chadli and Etienne Capoue having already moved to White Hart Lane.